cles,
and the tardiness of their sale, are sufficient refutations
of this charge. Osborne opened his shop for the inspection
of the books on Tuesday the 14th of February, 1744; for fear
"of the curiosity of the spectators, before the sale,
producing disorder in the disposition of the books." The
dispersion of the HARLEIAN COLLECTION is a blot in the
literary annals of our country: had there then been such a
Speaker, and such a spirit in the House of Commons, as we
now possess, the volumes of Harley would have been reposing
with the MARBLES OF TOWNLEY!]

[Footnote 33: "BIBLIOTHECA SMITHIANA: sive Catalogus
Librorum in quavis facultate insigniorum, quos in usum suum
et Bibliothecae ornamentum multo aere sibi comparavit vir
clarissimus doctissimusque D. RICHARDUS SMITH, &c., Londini,
1682," 4to. I recommend the collector of curious and
valuable catalogues to lay hold upon the present one (of
which a more particular description will be given in another
work) whenever it comes in his way. The address "To the
Reader," in which we are told that "this so much celebrated,
so often desired, so long expected, library is now exposed
to sale," gives a very interesting account of the owner.
Inter alia, we are informed that Mr. Smith "was as
constantly known every day to walk his rounds through the
shops, as to sit down to his meals, &c.;" and that "while
others were forming arms, and new-modelling kingdoms, _his_
great ambition was to become master of a good book."

The catalogue itself justifies every thing said in
commendation of the collector of the library. The
arrangement is good; the books, in almost all departments of
literature, foreign and domestic, valuable and curious; and
among the English ones I have found some of the rarest
Caxtons to refer to in my edition of Ames. What would Mr.
Bindley, or Mr. Malone, or Mr. Douce, give to have the
_creaming_ of such a collection of "Bundles of Stitcht Books
and Pamphlets," as extends from page 370 to 395 of this
catalogue! But alas! while the Bibliographer exults in, or
hopes for, the possession of such treasures, the
physiologist discovers therein fresh causes of disease, and
the philanthropist mourns over the ravages of the
BIBLIOMANIA!]

[Footnote 34: Consult Masters's "_